With the introduction of the new .prop() method and the changes to the .attr() method, jQuery 1.6 sparked a discussion about the difference between attributes and properties and how they relate to each other. It also came with some backwards compatibility issues that have been fixed in 1.6.1. When updating from 1.5.2 to 1.6.1, you should not have to change any attribute code.

Below is a description of the changes to the Attributes module in jQuery 1.6 and 1.6.1, as well as the preferred usage of the .attr() method and the .prop() method. However, as previously stated, jQuery 1.6.1 will allow you to use .attr() just as it was used before in all situations.

Note that the changes described in the 1.6 release notes regarding the .data() method have been worked around and now work seamlessly between 1.5.2 and 1.6.1.